states troops to afghanistan. >> reporter: at that time, he announced the schedule for their withdrawal. a goal that has been met. 33,000, u.s. troops took part in the surge, 10,000 were out by july of last year and the remaining 23,000 are now gone. in his statement, the defense secretary had a sobering reminder, saying it is important to underscore even as our surge troops return home there are roughly 68,000 americans who remain in a tough fight in afghanistan along side their nato and afghan partners, we are a nation at war. the human toll of the surge was tremendous. of the almost 2,000 u.s. casualties in afghanistan, 57% happened during the surge. now, those who remain face the die-hard insurgents and growing threat of insider attacks. the deadline to bring the final troops home is still 2014. >>> back here good news for anyone who relies on san francisco's great highway for their commute. the project that closed southbound lanes from lincoln to skyline boulevard will be completed monday. four days ahead of schedule. dump instructions and bulldozers have been taking sand from the